Top London policeman, Nicholas Angel is sent to a quiet country village as punishment for being too good. But the village is not all it seems! Numerous deaths lead Angel into a final showdown with the villagers in ‘God’s Country’. The sequence is from the end of the film – the final shoot out between Angel, his sidekick Danny and the villainous villagers.

Continuity of screen space - sophie

In Hot Fuzz (2007) Wright uses a variety of editing techniques in order to create meaning. In this sequence Wright focuses on the continuity of screen space by using different techniques. The first technique which is used at the beginning of the sequence (0:00-0:05) is an establishing shot which is used to convey the setting to the audience. The establishing shot implies that the village Sandford is small, quiet and isolated in the countryside which contrasts with the big city London where Angel was originally based as a top London Policeman.

 In order to keep continuity of screen space Wright uses an eyeline match during the shot reverse shot (0:21-0:31) between the evil farmer and the car. Not only does the eyeline match allow the continuity, it also scrutinizes the evil farmers feeling of uncertainty and fear. The shot reverse shot is an effective technique as it creates tension between the two characters. Another effect from the shot reverse shot is that it signifies the standoff between the two characters and how both have strong, determined mindsets to get their own way.

Continuity of time - jess

Wright uses many different editing techniques to establish the continuity of time in Hot Fuzz (2007). In the montage when Nicholas Angel is getting all his equipment ready at (1:13 - 1:24) the cutting speed is very quick to express the speed of the scene. At (1:58 - 3:22 ) When Nicholas is riding on his horse through the town time is spread out and there is a lot of cross cutting between the citizens of the village as he walks past. The cutting jumps to Nicholas on the horse which emphasises the whole village staring at him. However then time speeds up when the fight scene begins and the cutting speed becomes quite frantic and quick again to demonstrate the tension between Nicholas and the villagers.

Montage- Jay

1:06-1:26

This montage is extremely exaggerated and dramatic, very quickly shifting from shot to shot, as Angel equipps himself with a large variety of weapons. A montage sequence such as this

is quite a common archetype of the action and adventure genre, and serves the purpose of showing the protagonists epic preparation for combat. The montage is very fast, spanning about 20 seconds of the whole clip, with each shot lasting for only about 1 second. Speed is a very telling part of a montage as it serves to convey the emotion and mood of the scene. By choosing to show these shots in fast succession, Wright establishes a sense of suspense and high adrenaline, and aims to put the audience into a kind of comical awe at our protagonists larger-than-life presentation.

Rhythm & Style-Brandon Baskerville

The rhythm and style of the editing in this sequence runs in symmetry with the shots and intense action happening on screen. At the start, when Nicholas Angel is approaching the village we have a fade into the establishing shot of the sign and then we see the farmer, James Reaper, standing in the road. When Nicholas arrives and they start fighting the speed and style of the editing speeds up with the action becoming its fastest, in this scene, when James Reaper’s mother is shooting a shotgun at Nicholas.